


A Normal Childhood

by DoomsdayFairy



Series: transcendence au [10]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Alternate Universe - Transcendence (Gravity Falls), Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26838967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoomsdayFairy/pseuds/DoomsdayFairy
Summary: This story starts out not unlike many others, in the cold dark basement of some forgotten house out in the middle of nowhere. Mabel and Dipper are doing their standard routine of mercilessy killing cultists, with Henry supporting them from the sidelines.  Everything seems to be going according to plan.And then everything goes wrong.(Au of the Transcendence Au where Mabel and Henry dies and the triplets are raised by Dipper and Mabel's parents)
Series: transcendence au [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/876675
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19
Collections: Transcendence AU Ficathon 2020





	A Normal Childhood

**Author's Note:**

> Happy ficathon everybody!

This story starts out not unlike many others, in the cold dark basement of some forgotten house out in the middle of nowhere. It’s pretty standard as far as cult hideouts are concerned, Dipper and Mabel have certainly seen better, but that doesn’t matter right now as much as making sure that nobody gets out of there alive. Thankfully this routine is also pretty standard for the two of them by now, so much so that they’re even laughing and joking to each other as they mercilessly mow down the cultists around them. Something that is  _ not  _ so standard though is that Henry is here, after all with three little babies at home getting out of the house for anything other than work and grocery shopping has become somewhat of a rarity for him. Maybe that’s why he decided to come help out tonight, after all cult bashing isn’t exactly Henry’s strong suit. But tonight he’s here, not knowing that if he wasn’t this story would immediately be over, happily supporting his wife and brother-in-law from the sidelines as they make their way through the sea of cultists around them. Everything seems to be going according to plan.

And then everything goes wrong. 

It all happens so quickly. Far too quickly for anyone, even Dipper, to react. An object gets thrown, nobody pays it any mind before it’s too late. These cultists are determined to win, more so than anyone realized, and if they’re going to go down then they’ll take their enemies with them. The object explodes, and so does several others like it. And before he knows it Dipper is left all alone surrounded by a pile of debris and dead bodies.

Including those of his family.

*

The funeral is held a short time later. The whole town of Gravity Falls is there, looking on in shock and disbelief as the two caskets are lowered slowly into the ground. 

The triplets are handed over to their grandparents. Not Henry’s parents of course, that bridge has long been burned, but Mark and Anna are more than happy and willing to take the kids in. There are some protests from the rest of the family, but in the end there’s not much anyone can do. Stan is a convicted criminal, Dipper is dead, and Ford is rarely, if ever, home. As far as the authorities are concerned, the twins’ parents seem like the best option for the kids. 

And so the triplets are taken away to California, and Stan and Dipper are left alone with their grief in a now far too empty house. They try to pick themselves back up and go on like normal, but it turns out that that’s almost an impossible task. Soon the Stanley Pines memorial library is only open half of the week, then a third, and before anyone knows it most of the non-cursed books in it’s collection are being auctioned off for quite a lot of money. Stan claims that it’s because it’s more profitable, that running a library doesn’t bring in enough money, but in reality it’s because he’s too tired to keep the library open. The spark of life that his niece and nephew brought into his life so many years ago is fading away fast and with nothing left to live for Stan's old age is finally beginning to catch up to him. Dipper wishes that he could do something about it, but in the end he understands that any deal or offer he can make would be meaningless. Dipper might not be feeling the signs of old age like his uncle, but his own grief is affecting him all the same. He rarely leaves the house anymore, aside for those summonings that are too strong to ignore. His friends try to reach out to him at first, Wendy spends hours every week trying to call, and Soos is knocking in vain on the door of the library every day, but they soon stop when they never get an answer. Both Dipper and Stan prefer to be alone right now, not really having the energy to properly interact with the rest of society. It’s probably not a healthy coping mechanism, but they can’t exactly be bothered to care. At least they still have each other to grieve with, and maybe that will have to be enough for now. They can worry about a bunch of other stuff later when they’ve gotten back on their feet, they just need a little more time alone together for now. 

  
  


*

Stan dies three years later

*

The triplets are raised in a happy, loving,  _ normal _ home. They attend a human-only school, play with their human friends, and are enrolled in fun, safe, normal after school activities like sports and music lessons. It’s not that Mark and Anna have become hardcore pro-nats or anything, but they have definitely raised their grandkids to be cautious around the supernatural. The kids are curious, of course, as children often are when told to stay away from something. When the triplets are 11 Anna sits them down after having found them playing with some jackalopes in the garden and tells them about the transcendence. She makes sure to empathize that although the supernatural can seem fun and exciting at first, you never know what might be safe and what might end up being really dangerous. She shows the kids pictures of their uncle, and tells them a bit about his life, his fascination with the paranormal, and of course, his death. When she’s done the kids just sit there in silence for a while. Anna thinks she got her point across. But in reality, the kids all know something that she doesn’t. 

There is something wrong with Willow. 

*

Once, when the kids are around 3 years old, shortly after Stan passes away, Dipper tries to reach out to his parents. He calls them on the phone, trying to do this the correct- the  _ human  _ way. His dad seems really surprised when he answers. Dipper tries to make small talk for a bit, but dad seems really stressed out, and when Dipper finally manages to muster up the courage to ask about the kids, and if he could maybe come and see them sometime, his dad hangs up. 

This, unfortunately, is the last straw for Dipper. And from then on he’s only Alcor.

Alcor the dreambender, The reality warper, The twin star! Alcor who shows no mercy. Alcor who lets his grief and anger fuel him, exchanging tears for flames as he cons and scares and kills almost all of those who are foolish enough to summon him. He tells himself that these are the same kinds of people who took his family, they are the ones bringing pain and suffering into the world, they deserve to suffer like he has. 

The only exception are the children. The ones that are so small, so innocent, so full of potential. It breaks his heart whenever he encounters them, so painfully reminiscent of what he’s lost, and he always tries his best to soothe them, to protect them, to make sure that they’re brought to safety and looked after by somebody who loves them. It seems like the least he can do for his niblets, even if he’ll never get to see them again. He hopes that just knowing that their uncle is out there somewhere looking after young ones like them might bring the three of them some comfort. 

He has no idea both how right and wrong he is. 

* 

It takes them a while to figure it out. After all the only frame of reference we have for how we perceive the world is our own, and it’s not until the triplets are old enough to try and start grappling with more abstract concepts that Willow starts to realize that there’s something different about hers. 

The colors, the sights, the flames. Nobody else is experiencing this. 

And as far as the triplets know there is only one possible explanation for all of this. This is  _ magic _ . It has to be. And the triplets all worry about what would happen if their grandparents found out about it.  _ They  _ don’t think Willow seems bad or dangerous, but would grandma and grandpa know that? 

So they keep quiet. Something that only gets harder and harder as the three of them grow older and the “symptoms” gets more intense. At the age of 13 Willow is regularly experiencing migraines from the intense colors around her. Her body temperature is at a constant 103 F and she’s shaking and sweating from the effort of keeping the flames down. Her grandparents take her to see several doctors, but no problem is ever found. Hank and Acacia are getting really worried, not sure how much longer their sister can take this. Something obviously needs to be done, fast, and after hours scouring the internet they think that they might have found an answer.

Alcor. 

The dreambender is known for being violent. The triplets grandparents have warned them about him several times, and normally it would probably be stupid to try to summon him but…

The triplets are desperate. Plus the internet said that Alcor is usually nice to children, and they still count as children don’t they? Either way, he might be their only hope. 

So the triplets sneak out one day, when their grandparents are both occupied, to a far hidden corner of the city park where they are sure that they won’t be found. There, in the dirt on the ground, they draw the circle. Chanting the incantation, their latin is a little bit shaky, but it seems to work as thick dark smoke slowly gathers up in the center. The dreambender seems surprised to see them. Surprised and confused, as the triplets begin reading out their proposed deal to him. He seems even more confused when he asks Willow to step forward, wanting to get a better look at her condition, reaching out a hand to stroke her cheek and she backs away frightened. 

“Do҉ ̴y̡ou… not ̛k̶now ͠w͜ho̡ ͟I ͡am̧?” he asks, and there’s both hurt and confusion in his voice. 

The triplets shake their heads, now equally as confused. Alcor’s face suddenly twists into one of anger. He stretches out his wings, wrapping them around both himself and the kids, and before anyone has the chance to react he has teleported them all away.

*

Anna Pines is sitting on the couch in front of the TV, and nearly has a heart attack when her son and grandkids suddenly appear in front of her. 

Dipper immediately begins shouting, the triplets slowly backs away in fear as they watch the demon they summoned argue with their frightened grandmother. At some point Mark comes in to see what’s going on, and his face pales when he sees Dipper verbally tearing into his wife and immediately sends the triplets up to their room. As soon as Dipper notices his father’s presence he directs his fury towards him too. Mark and Anna try to defend themselves. Saying that Dipper is too dangerous, that what he’s doing right now is proof that he’s not fit to be around children, and worst of all, that his sister would still be alive if it wasn’t for her involvement with him. Dipper retorts saying that his parents' useless paranoia is why their granddaughter has been suffering, that if they hadn’t been so afraid of all things supernatural maybe Willow could have actually gotten the help she needs with her powers instead of hiding them and feeling ashamed. By the end of it all, everyone is in tears after having spent hours screaming and throwing around accusations. Dipper leaves his parents house that day feeling numb, and Mark and Anna are left to wonder whether or not they have really been doing the right thing. 

The triplets finds out the truth that night. About Alcor and Mizar, their  _ uncle  _ and mother, about what really happened to their family during and after the transcendence. There is no point in hiding it anymore, now that it’s all come crashing down. The triplets have things to tell their grandparents too, about Willow’s magic and fear of rejection. A lot more tears are shed. Lot’s of apologies and reassurance that Mark and Anna would  _ never  _ abandon any of their grandkids, that they love them and will continue to do so no matter what. It feels truly awful, knowing the pain they must have been unintentionally causing their grandkids by instilling their own fear of the paranormal into them. And of course, the next logical train of thought, to realize how much pain they must have been causing their  _ son  _ for all these years. 

Luckily there might still be a way to make all things right again. Mark and Anna are just hoping that that bridge hasn’t been too burnt yet. 

*

Dipper never expects to be summoned back by his parents. He is both surprised and a little anxious when he finds himself appearing in his parents living room a few days later. Mark and Anna tell him to sit down, that they want to talk. What follows is a long and awkward conversation unpacking  _ years  _ of emotional baggage. Dipper is not as quick to forgive as the triplets are, but in the end, after lots of crying and begging and promises to do better, he agrees that he can give his parents a chance for the kids sake. After all Willow still needs help with her magic, and seeing as his own is so eerily similar everyone can agree that Dipper would probably be the best suited for the task. And besides, he just misses the kids. He’s willing to put up with his parents if it means getting the chance to be in his niblings life again. 

And so, the Pines slowly starts to settle into their new normal. Dipper begins spending every monday and thursday afternoon giving magic lessons to Willow, and then one day after showing off his newly acquired violin skills and Hank expresses an interest suddenly Dipper has his wednesday evenings booked as well, and while Acacia isn’t really interested in weekly activities she  _ is  _ interested in letting her uncle take her on fun totally safe non-threatening outings to various locations all around the world. Soon enough Dipper is spending more and more time at his parents house. Then one day his dad brings home a new gaming system that looks fun, and if it just so happens that there are exactly four controllers instead of just three for the kids well… Maybe he has started warming up to his parents again after all. In his defense, the system’s got some really good games. 

And that’s where this story ends. With a once family torn apart, now finally reconnected and, despite still having some ways to go in completely mending their broken relationship, happy.

Yeah, they’re pretty happy. 

**Author's Note:**

> Zalgo: "Do you... not know who I am?"


End file.
